2024 Spring Football Preview: Offensive Line

Tag: Amir Herring


17Mar 2024
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2024 Spring Football Preview: Offensive Line

Myles Hinton (image via MLive)

2023 Starters: LT La’Darius Henderson, LG Trevor Keegan, C Drake Nugent, RG Zak Zinter, RT Karsen Barnhart
Losses: Barnhart (NFL), Henderson (NFL), Trente Jones (NFL), Keegan (NFL), Nugent (NFL), Zinter (NFL)
Returning players: Myles Hinton (RS Sr.), Jeffrey Persi (RS Sr.), Raheem Anderson (RS Jr.), Tristan Bounds (RS Jr.), Greg Crippen (RS Jr.), Giovanni El-Hadi (RS Jr.), Dominic Giudice (RS Jr.), Andrew Gentry (RS So.), Connor Jones (RS So.), Nathan Efobi (RS Fr.), Amir Herring (RS Fr.), Evan Link (RS Fr.)
Newcomers: Josh Priebe (RS Sr.), Blake Frazier (Fr.), Jake Guarnera (Fr.)
Projected starters: LT Hinton, LG El-Hadi, C Crippen, RG Priebe, RT Persi

Michigan went from having a terrible offensive line under Brady Hoke to a decent offensive line at the beginning of the Harbaugh era to one of the best in the country at the end of Harbaugh’s tenure. In two of Harbaugh’s final three seasons, Michigan won the Joe Moore Award for the best offensive line in the country; in the third season, they lost the award but won a national championship. And now most of the key pieces to those awards and accomplishments are either in the NFL or heading there soon.

Much like the quarterback position, nobody really has a great idea of how the position group will shake out. Will it be as good as it was in 2021-2023? That’s unlikely. Could it still be a solid conglomeration? Sure. Four of the starters above (Hinton, El-Hadi, Crippen, and Persi) were 4-star prospects or better, and the only 3-star (Priebe) is a multi-year starter coming from Northwestern. Furthermore, they are all veteran players in at least their fourth year of college.

At offensive tackle, Hinton started one-third of the season before ceding his spot to Barnhart in 2023, so he seems like the most likely to start. On the right side, it could be a battle between Persi and Gentry. Both have looked somewhat rough in limited time, but Persi has two years of experience on Gentry, whose footwork still looked pretty sloppy in 2023.

At the guard positions, El-Hadi is another player who has some starting experience a couple seasons ago as an injury fill-in, so he seems likely to slide right in this season. Priebe is a veteran starting presence who should be able to fend off most contenders, if not all of them.

Word coming out of Ann Arbor about Crippen has been that he’s a potential All-American, but he’s just been blocked by two really good players in Olu Oluwatimi and Nugent over the past couple years. I have some doubts because I’m not sure why the coaching staff would recruit over him if he was that good, but he’s also two years older now than he was when Oluwatimi swooped in, so perhaps his improvement in that time has been significant.

Despite losing six offensive linemen to the draft, Michigan goes into spring with 15 other scholarship linemen on the roster. That’s somewhat mind-boggling to consider, since a team might have carried just 13 linemen a few years ago. In that bygone era of like 2019, we would be looking at 7 returning players and 6 true freshmen arriving sporadically in January and then June. Instead, there are 12 returning players, a transfer, and 2 early enrollee freshmen available for the spring, not to mention further reinforcements arriving this summer.

Some projected backups to keep an eye on are Raheem Anderson, who was reportedly ahead of Crippen early in their careers but has since appeared to be more of a factor at guard; Gentry, who could potentially start at tackle over Persi; and Herring, who’s a powerful offensive guard option that looked good in the spring game in 2023. Aside from Gentry possibly starting, Anderson and Herring are almost certainly backups for this season. Another players I’ll also be watching closely is Tristan Bounds, a behemoth of a player whose balance has been questionable in limited field time.

1Jul 2023
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2023 Season Countdown: #91 Amir Herring

Amir Herring and Sherrone Moore

Name: Amir Herring
Height: 
6’3″
Weight: 
305 lbs.
High school: 
West Bloomfield (MI) West Bloomfield
Position: 
Offensive guard
Class: 
Freshman
Jersey number: 
#56
Last year: 
Herring was a senior in high school (LINK). He made 85 pancake blocks.
TTB Rating:
 73

Herring was a long-time Michigan lean who at one point seemed unlikely to end up in Michigan’s class. How is that possible? Well, it seemed at times like Michigan was not pursuing Herring heavily, even though he was offered on July 1, 2020 (today’s the three-year anniversary!). Pegged as a tackle early in his recruitment, his lack of height eventually led to him being ranked as an interior lineman. Word on the street was that Michigan wasn’t really sold on taking him unless he was open to playing center, but once that was ironed out, he became a take.

Herring enrolled early back in January and participated in the spring game, where he started for one squad at right guard. He performed well, and he has a college-ready build at 6’3″ and 305 lbs. Whether he can hold up at guard or will eventually have to slide over to center once a spot opens remains to be seen: Drake Nugent, Greg Crippen, and Raheem Anderson are all older with the ability to play center. For now Herring might be the most college ready offensive lineman in the class, but with the depth on the line, he may still be buried. My guess is that he plays in a few early-season games, but not enough to burn his redshirt.

Prediction: Redshirt

10Feb 2023
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2023 Recruiting Grades: Offensive Line

LaDarius Henderson (image via Twitter)

Previously: QUARTERBACK, RUNNING BACK, TIGHT END

2023 DEPARTURES: 2 (Ryan Hayes, Olu Oluwatimi)

2023 NEEDS: 1

2023 COMMITMENTS: Cumming (GA) South Forsyth OT Nathan Efobi, Arizona State transfer OG LaDarius Henderson, West Bloomfield (MI) West Bloomfield C Amir Herring, Stanford transfer OT Myles Hinton, Washington (DC) Gonzaga OT Evan Link, Stanford transfer C Drake Nugent

NOTEWORTHY 2023 OFFERS

  • Kade Eldridge – Lynden (WA) Christian: USC
  • D.J. Chester – McDonogh (GA) Eagle’s Landing: LSU
  • Cole Dellinger – Clarkston (MI) Clarkston: Michigan State
  • Spencer Fano – Provo (UT) Timpview: Utah
  • Cayden Green – Lee’s Summit (MO) North: Oklahoma
  • Landen Hatchett – Ferndale (WA) Ferndale: Washington
  • Logan Howland – Princeton (NJ) The Hun School: Oklahoma
  • Caleb Lomu – Gilbert (AZ) Highland: Utah
  • Luke Montgomery – Findlay (OH) Findlay: Ohio State
  • Paul Mubenga – Buford (GA) Buford: LSU
  • Dylan Senda – Dearborn (MI) Divine Child: Northwestern

GRADE: A

REASON FOR THE GRADE: Despite losing just two players to the NFL, the starting offensive line appeared to be in pretty good shape going into 2023. Of course, having a good offensive line is typically predicated on experience, so we have to look at what players are behind them and how ready they will be in 2024 and beyond. Michigan’s numbers were solid enough that they didn’t have to snag too many linemen in the class of 2023 to maintain a healthy overall number at the position (~15), but they hit it out of the park in the transfer portal, if not the high school ranks.

Starting with the transfer portal guys, Michigan landed Arizona State offensive guard/tackle LaDarius Henderson, Stanford center Drake Nugent, and Stanford right tackle Myles Hinton. All three are starters, and in particular, Henderson was a captain and Nugent was a Rimington Award finalist. While offensive guards Trevor Keegan and Zak Zinter return, Henderson could end up playing left or right tackle, depending on who steps up at those positions. Nugent should slot in as the starting center, and Hinton will probably be in a battle to start at one of the tackle spots, as injuries and inconsistency have hampered him a little bit so far. However, Hinton was a top-100 prospect and has great potential if he can put everything together.

Link improved as a senior to the point where I think he can be a solid player at the next level, especially in the run game; he has limited pass pro reps on his senior highlights, but there’s potential if he can stay consistent with his technique. Efobi still plays too high for my liking, and he doesn’t really win enough blocks even on his highlights. Meanwhile, interior lineman Herring could play guard or center – some think center is his best spot because of a lack of height – and is the type of kid who should be a good locker room presence while he waits for his opportunity for a few years, and he could step in as an upperclassman and start for a couple years.

Overall, Michigan did a good job of not only plugging a hole at center, but creating immediate competition at the tackle positions. Link, Herring, and Efobi are all guys with potential down the road, though I don’t think any of them are headed for stardom in college. If the Wolverines can maintain their solid offensive line play and use the transfer portal to their advantage on a yearly basis, this could be a recipe for great annual success even if the high school recruiting is so-so.

8Jan 2023
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Under Armour All-American Game Participants: Michigan

Karmello English

The 2024 Under Armour All-American Game will be played in January of 2024.  The following participants have committed to or signed a Letter of Intent to play for Michigan:

2023
Karmello English, WR – Phenix City, AL
Amir Herring, C – West Bloomfield, MI

2022
Will Johnson, CB – Grosse Pointe, MI
Derrick Moore, DE – Baltimore, MD
Keon Sabb, S – Bradenton, FL
Amorion Walker, WR – Ponchatoula, LA

2021
Giovanni El-Hadi, OT – Sterling Heights, MI
Jaydon Hood, LB – Ft. Lauderdale, FL

2020
Blake Corum, RB – Baltimore, MD
Micah Mazzccua, OT – Baltimore, MD
Braiden McGregor, DE – Port Huron, MI#
Andre Seldon, Jr., CB – Belleville, MI

2019
Zach Charbonnet, RB – Thousand Oaks, CA
Quinten Johnson, S – Washington, DC
Trente Jones, OT – Loganville, GA
Nolan Rumler, OG – Akron, OH
Mazi Smith, DT – East Kentwood, MI
Anthony Solomon, LB – Fort Lauderdale, FL

2018
Mustapha Muhammad, TE – Missouri City, TX
Myles Sims, CB – Atlanta, GA

2017
Jaylen Kelly-Powell, S – Detroit, MI
Kwity Paye, DE – Warwick, RI
Cesar Ruiz, C – Bradenton, FL
Luiji Vilain, DE – Alexandria, VA

Hit the jump for more.

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